It’s almost time for 30 Days Wild, The Wildlife Trusts’ annual nature challenge. Can you join thousands of people doing one wild thing a day this June? 

30 Days Wild is all about the little moments. The soothing scent of wildflowers as you stroll through the park, sunlight brushing your face as you sit in a garden, or the sweet sound of birdsong drifting from a street tree. It’s a reminder that wherever we are, there is nature to be found, even if it’s poking up between paving stones. 

30 Days Wild encourages us to take a little time to connect with the nature around us, to create new, wild memories. So, to celebrate these wild connections, we asked some Wildlife Trust staff to share their earliest memories of being in nature.

Logan Walker, Communications and Media Officer for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust

My earliest memories of nature are unfortunately not the happiest. One Sunday morning we encountered a hedgehog in a sorry state on the edge of the pavement, and as a desperate bid to skip the church service, I persuaded my mum to bring it back to our garden so that we could nurse it back to health – it was gone the next morning, so its fate is ambiguous. 

On another occasion, a thud on our back window revealed the impossibly vibrant blues and oranges of a kingfisher laying motionless on the patio. A slight mystery as there were several garden fences between us and the nearest stream. I remember my dad saying to me, ‘Make the most of this, as it’s the closest you’ll ever get to a kingfisher again.’ 

On a more positive note, I remember my pride that, while on a school trip to the Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre, I was the only one in my class to catch a newt.

However, it was not until a couple of decades later that summer evenings watching foxes in the streets of Bristol and discovering peregrine falcons in the Avon Gorge inspired a love and fascination for the natural world which has grown with each passing day.

Debbie Mckenzie, communities and education manager for The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire

My earliest memory of nature was feeding a female mallard in the brook opposite our home. I would have been between two and three years old, but I remember really vividly the bird’s beautiful plumage. It was a lovely, sunlit spring evening and I remember wanting to go a bit closer, a bit further down the steps. Many years later, I got to work for the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Welney Wetland Centre, where part of the role was delivering wild swan (and duck) feeds!

Tom Hibbert, content officer for The Wildlife Trusts

I always enjoyed being outside. I loved animals and appreciated wild places, but it was only in my late teens that I really started to connect with the wildlife around me. I remember the first time I ever went actively looking for a bird. I took a bus to a tiny Wildlife Trust nature reserve, just a few ponds in a woodland, looking for a kingfisher. The flash of blue above the water stopped me in my tracks. I felt as if I’d won the lottery as this beautiful bird zipped by and perched in a nearby tree. I still feel the same thrill every time I spot a kingfisher. 

Jennie Denton, wilder learning coordinator (youth lead), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

My dad was a keen gardener when I was little, but he was not a fan of caterpillars eating his broccoli and cabbage. So as a child, I spent a lot of time ‘rescuing’ caterpillars from his plants. To me, they were just cute little creatures who tickled my hand as they walked across it! I collected jam jars, poked holes in the lids with a hammer and nail (and my dad’s help!), popped in some leaves and rehomed the rescued caterpillars. I would then look after them and watch them pupate and eventually hatch into butterflies, which I took to school and released. Eventually my teacher helped me acquire an old fish tank for our classroom, instead of small jam jars, which acted as a temporary habitat for caterpillars until they were ready to be released as butterflies! 

Craig Whitelock, wilder schools and youth team leader, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

I remember exploring my parents’ garden as a child with my toys, digging, feeling the soil as I made pools in the flower beds for my crocodile. I watched the wiggly worms that emerged from the soil, spotted the shieldbugs on the honeysuckle as I tugged at the leaves to make a potion. I loved the feeling of being outside with the wind blowing on my face and the heat of the sun on my back; outside was my playroom. Every now and again, the sound of the blue tits high up in the birch tree would distract me. These memories stay with me forever. I felt like this was my safe space, I could be who I wanted to be and have the freedom of exploring!

Emily Lake, communications and marketing officer, Cheshire Wildlife Trust

My first wild memory is climbing into the large pot plants in our garden and eating the soil when I was a toddler (don’t try that at home!). I grew up in Australia, so the pot plants used to get lovely and warm in the sun. I would climb in and curl up and eat the soil – maybe I thought it was chocolate? But I just remember feeling so safe and comfortable. I guess mother nature was literally cradling me.

Every day is an opportunity to make new memories in nature. Sign up to 30 Days Wild to receive a free pack and lots of ideas and inspiration for making your June a lot wilder. And don’t forget to share your wild memories with us on social media using #30DaysWild – your first memories of nature, or your latest!

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